


sun & moon (I see you even when I close my eyes)

by vibe_killer



Category: NCT (Band)
Genre: Alternate Universe - College/University, Angst with a Happy Ending, College, Enemies to Friends to Lovers, Enemies to Lovers, Fluff, Fluff and Angst, Friends to Lovers, Happy Ending, Homophobia, Huang Ren Jun & Lee Donghyuck | Haechan Are Best Friends, Implied Sexual Content, Lee Jeno & Mark Lee Are Best Friends, Lee Jeno is a Panicked Gay, M/M, Mark Lee (NCT) is Whipped, Mentioned NCT 127 Ensemble, Mentioned WayV Ensemble, NCT Dream Ensemble-centric, Na Jaemin is Whipped, Na Jaemin is a Confident Gay, Poor Lee Donghyuck | Haechan, Rich Mark Lee (NCT), Sad with a Happy Ending, Sweet Mark Lee (NCT), also jaemin making jeno flustered as fuck, and haechan thinking they're just friends, anyways idk how or what to tag, but mostly mark staring at haechan for too long, markhyuck are whipped for each other, not really enemies but haechan doesn't understand mark's bluntness, parents are homophobic, plus he doesn't know how to do relationships, plus this is my first fic so pls be nice, sorry i'm a virgin
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-09-13
Updated: 2020-09-14
Packaged: 2021-03-06 23:22:01
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 2
Words: 3,160
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26437135
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/vibe_killer/pseuds/vibe_killer
Summary: mark finally feels a little less lonely while looking into donghyuck's eyes(alternatively, mark being completely whipped while donghyuck swears they're just good friends)
Relationships: Lee Donghyuck | Haechan/Mark Lee, Lee Jeno/Na Jaemin
Comments: 4
Kudos: 20





	1. whatever you say, you’re still my best friend

**Author's Note:**

> hello!! this is my first fic, so i was hoping you guys could go easy on me :)) 
> 
> this fic is loosely based on the book "i still love you even if you're a man" by angelina and the drama meteor garden (2018). i also take some inspiration from the bl shows i've watched, so i don't want to say the story is completely my own.
> 
> also, the titles of most of my chapters will be lyrics from nct/wayv songs if i can find ones that fit. if not, i'll just make one up or take from other non-nct songs i like. i hope you lovely people enjoy :))
> 
> \- marissa ^-^

“Which one of you wants to come with me to meet the freshman?” Jeno asked his friends whose eyes were glued to their screens. He didn’t expect them to respond, but he asked anyways. 

Jaehyun always declined with a smile and Mark didn’t talk much to begin with, so Jeno smiled at Jaemin and asked again. Jaemin usually ended up doing whatever Jeno wanted. 

Jaemin reached out to hold Jeno’s hand. “I would, but I’ve been running around all day and I’m tired, so no.” 

“That’s your fault! If you went to class like you’re supposed to, you wouldn’t have to run away from all your body guards.” Jeno always tries to get Jaemin to go to class, but he’s always unsuccessful. When your dad is the biggest investor in your university, attending class is all but optional. 

“You chose to run for the president!” Jaehyun added, smiling up at Jeno from the couch he was laying on. “Since you made that decision, you should take responsibility.” 

Jeno liked being the president. He felt the most comfortable in roles where he was helping people. However, he was a little shy. He always felt more confident when his friends were around. As annoying as they were, they’ve always encouraged him the most. It’s been that way ever since they were young. 

Jeno sighed dramatically, which his friends usually found cute. “Are you guys really my friends? Mark? You said you would do whatever I want with me yesterday!” 

“It’s not like we signed a contract.” Mark tells Jeno with an expressionless face. 

“Why are you always like this? Just come with me! I’ll buy you that game you wanted.” 

“No thanks. Already bought it.” 

“Mark! What’s the point in calling you my best friend?” 

Mark got up off the bean bag he was sitting on. “Okay, fine. I’ll go, but you can’t ask me to move for a week. I already have to make the difficult trip to class every morning.” 

Honestly, Mark, Jaemin, Jeno, and Jaehyun were all different in their personalities.

Jaehyun and Jaemin were really free and spontaneous. They didn’t like to waste a single moment; they were always out somewhere, doing something fun or irresponsible. The two ended up spending a lot of time together. The only differences between the two were their romantic and academic lives.

Jaehyun always set time aside for school in between partying and having fun. He had big plans (probably way too out of reach) to move out of his parents’ house to escape from underneath his perfect brother’s shadow. Jaemin, on the other hand, rarely went to class but maintained decent grades by showing up for exams. Not that his professors dared to say anything to him. 

As for their love lives, Jaehyun barely had one. By that, it means that he didn’t have just one. Since he was always moving around and doing things, the same happened for his relationships — they usually ended as soon as they started. Since Jaehyun was normally very sweet, more and more people approached him despite everyone knowing his reputation. For Jaemin, because of his boyish charm, pretty smile, and his affectionate personality, he also attracted many people — boys, girls, and everyone in between. However, he was Jaehyun’s polar opposite, as Jaemin had always wanted to find one person to be with. Once he found out that person was Jeno, he decided to only look at Jeno until the other boy would feel the same. 

Jeno, who could only be described as perfect, was the ideal person. He was smart, kind hearted, and studied tirelessly despite his impressive family. On top of that, he was handsome with a cute eye smile and a bright laugh, so naturally everyone was drawn to him (but Jaemin claimed he liked Jeno before he became handsome, so he was first). Truthfully, people didn’t expect Jeno to be so hardworking or so nice to everyone. His family was rich and powerful, but Jeno never liked the idea of superiority. No matter how much his parents saw Jeno’s personality as a weakness, he was friendly towards everyone and loved talking to people. 

Mark, who was the complete opposite, stayed inside most of the time and didn’t talk much to anyone except his friends. It’s not that he didn’t like people — he actually felt lonely quite often — he just found it exhausting. Mark wasn’t always this closed off. Ever since he started going to school after being homeschooled for 15 years, everyone that came into Mark’s life always tried to reap the benefits of his money. Because of this, he stopped trying to make friends and only talked to the three he’s known since he was a baby. Relationships were obviously out of question. 

The four boys lived near each other since they were in diapers. Even though Mark didn’t go to school with them, they always made sure to hang out with Mark after their lessons were over. Not a day went by for nine years that they didn’t bring Mark delicious snacks from their school’s cafeteria so he wouldn’t miss out. Besides the election, the other three went to every recital, decathlon, and game that Jeno did. Mark made every “Jeno’s the best!” poster while Jaehyun and Jaemin screamed in support for him. Even though the other three constantly nagged Jaemin about going to class, they never fail to give him their notes, record the lecture for him, and help him study for tests. Since Jaemin’s parents are usually never home, the other three are constantly at his house, refusing to let their friend be bored. As much as they complain, the other three come rushing to pick up a drunk Jaehyun from a late-night party. They came faster, not without Jaehyun’s favorite records, movies, and food, when their usually bright friend was upset because of his parents. 

That was the thing about them. Even though they seemed different, they were always there for each other. It’s a shame they were born into different families because they were closer than brothers. For them, the other three were the only bit of warmth in their lives. They gave each other the attention and love they secretly craved. They needed each other. 

Jeno smiled brightly at Mark and wrapped his arms around his friend’s. “You agree so easily these days, are you falling in love with me?”

Jaemin frowned and pointed his finger at Mark. “Excuse me, his heart is taken. Get your own.”

Mark, as usual, didn’t respond. The group already got used to Jaemin’s slight jealousy. Since Jeno was so friendly, everyone wanted to be friends with him, and even more wanted to date him. This led to endless pouting and complaining from Jaemin’s end. 

“Who said I’m taken? I’ve been single my whole life.” Jeno winked at Jaemin, as he grabbed Mark’s shoulders and walked out the door.

Jaemin pouted as he watched Jeno and Mark walk out the door. “Don’t pretend like you don’t know, Lee Jeno!”

After the two left, Jaehyun looked up from his phone. “Do you really think Mark Lee is capable of dating anyone? He barely even talks to us. Who else but us could handle him?” 

“You never know, he could find someone!” Jaemin said. 

“Don’t you think he would’ve by now? He always gets, like, 50 love letters every Valentine’s Day.”

“Maybe he’s picky? I don’t know, I’ve never once heard him mention liking someone.” Jaemin asked.

Jaehyun laughed at the thought. “Maybe this year will be the year. There are so many cute freshmen this year, maybe he’ll notice one of them.”

“Maybe.”


	2. i already see only you in my eyes

After 20 minutes of waiting — 10 of which Jeno nagged Mark to put on his uniform’s jacket because “it shows school spirit” — the group of freshmen were finally dropped off at the student’s lounge. 

There were four of them. Each one taller than the previous one.

Jeno smiled at them. “Hello! Welcome to our university! Was the trip here long?”

The smallest one extended his hand to Jeno and smiled. “Thank you. We all live outside of Seoul, so the trip took a while. But it was fine. I’m Huang Renjun.”

“The car the school sent was so fancy! I said I was feeling a little hot, so the driver turned on the AC and told me to get a drink from the fridge! A whole fridge inside a car!” the tallest one said, excitedly. 

“Jisung, that’s how it is for rich people! You’re making it obvious you’re from the countryside!” The other slightly shorter one said while laughing. He turned to Jeno and Mark. “My name is Zhong Chenle. Nice to meet you.”

Jeno shook the adorable boy’s hand. “That sounds like a Chinese name. Renjun too.”

“I’m from Jilin and Chenle’s from Shanghai, but we’ve lived in Korea for a while. These two are Korean though.” Renjun told Jeno while pointing at his other two friends.

Donghyuck smiled at Jeno, and then at Mark. “I’m Lee Donghyuck. Thank you so much for sending us a car to bring us here. We’re really grateful. But we’re a little nervous seeing how big the campus is.” 

“Don’t be! Our university is super strict with scholarships, so if you’re here, it means you’re really special.” Jeno practiced what to say to the freshman for hours. He didn’t want them to feel intimidated at all.

“My name is Lee Jeno. I'm the junior class president.” Jeno told them as he motioned towards Mark. “This is Lee Mark, one of my best friends. He’s nothing special. He's pretty handsome, but he’s just Mark.”

The freshmen laughed as they looked at Mark, who offered the group a small smile. “Uh… welcome. I don’t know if you’ll like it here, to be honest, but good luck.” 

As Jeno explained some things to the group, Mark glanced over to Donghyuck, who looked tiny in his shirt that seemed too big for him. 

The freshman had a really pretty smile. That’s the first thing Mark noticed when the younger boy first walked into the student’s lounge. He couldn’t stop staring at it. Whenever the freshmen laughed, Mark found himself glancing over at Donghyuck to catch a glimpse of it. It made the older boy’s heart feel something he couldn’t figure out. 

No matter how small his smile was, there was always a thin gap separating his top and bottom teeth. When Donghyuck closed his mouth, his lips almost formed a heart shape. It was a warm shade of pink that seemed like it was made specifically for the younger boy. 

Mark took note of the small bits of fat that formed under the boy’s eyes and his cheeks getting fuller when he smiled. He thought that Donghyuck should always be happy if he was going to look so cute when he smiled. 

Donghyuck’s skin was the prettiest part about him. It was caramel, honey-like, sun kissed — Mark didn’t know what words would do justice to such a beautiful color. It looked soft and smooth, leaving Mark wanting to touch it. 

When Mark realized what he was doing, he immediately stopped. 

_What the fuck are you doing? He’s gonna think you’re a creep._ Mark said to himself. 

He looked over to Jeno to distract himself, who _still_ wasn’t done with his spiel about how they should join as many school activities as possible. 

“The last thing I need you guys to do is write down your body measurements, so the school store can get your uniforms ready. Plus, there are also gym clothes, Friday uniforms, our casual uniforms, and pajamas included.” 

The freshmen didn’t say anything, but the looks on their faces gave it away. 

Jeno laughed. “Yeah, our university can be a little extra. The principal loves to spend money on useless things. Some of the students’ parents invest a lot of money into the school, so they need to look for ways to spend the endless amounts of money.”

“We have to wear the pajamas the school provides? How would they know? Are they gonna come and check when we’re sleeping?” Jisung asked with wide eyes. 

“No, you don’t. It’s just another way people here show off. The school embroiders your initials onto it or something to make it look fancy. I never wear it, it’s too thick.” Mark assures him. “Just wear whatever the fuck you want, honestly.” 

The freshmen visibly relaxed a little after hearing that. 

Mark saw Donghyuck smiling up at him after he spoke, but the older boy didn’t dare to look back, as he probably would’ve melted into a puddle right there. 

Jeno handed the freshman pens and sheets of paper. “If you write your measurements here, I’ll go deliver them to the office and get you your uniforms by the end of today.” 

While the others wrote down their measurements, Donghyuck struggled to open his pen. He tried to take the cap off, but it seemed like it was super glued on. Mark saw him struggling from the corner of his eye. He accidentally let out a giggle and they made eye contact.

Donghyuck awkwardly laughed. “I think the cap is stuck. I’m usually not bad at using pens…”

“Uh… there’s no cap, you have to click the button on the end.” Mark didn’t notice he’s smiling from ear to ear, but Jeno did.

Mark didn’t mingle with anyone willingly, let alone smile so genuinely at them. Mark usually smiled around his friends, but it was mostly when he beat them in a game or when he was teasing them. So, it was _more than_ strange to see Lee Mark with that expression on his face. 

Slightly embarrassed, Donghyuck let out a long “oh” and quickly wrote down his measurements. He can’t believe that was his first impression with the cute junior. 

The freshmen finished writing their measurements down and handed them to Jeno. 

“If that’s all, we’ll go find our dorm rooms now. We’re all really tired.” Renjun said, picking up his backpack. Between Donghyuck and Renjun, the latter was always the one to successfully get them out of awkward situations, boring lectures that put them to sleep, or conversations they didn't want to continue. 

“I’ll go take these to the office, but Mark can show you where your dorm building is. It’s kind of far from here and there are many freshman residence halls.” 

“No, it’s fine! I’m sure we can find it. I have the campus map. Also, Renjun is really good with directions.” Donghyuck offered, taking out a freshly printed map of the campus that could just as well be its own town.

Jeno looked at Mark, and then at the freshmen. “It’s really nothing! Mark would be more than happy to.”

The freshmen awkwardly looked at Mark, who stared awkwardly back at them. 

“I don't think this sunbae wants to though.” Chenle said as he brightly smiled. He didn’t know why, but he already took a liking to Mark. The younger boy thought he should invite the older one to play basketball with him one day.

Jeno laughed as he turned to leave. “Don’t worry about him! That’s just how his face looks. He looks intimidating, but he’s actually really cute once you get to know him. See you later!” 

Donghyuck looked down at the ground, smiling at the thought of Mark, who had only shown his expressionless face so far, being cute. At least he got a glimpse of it when Mark smiled at him. 

Mark awkwardly turned to the freshmen and forced a smile. He didn’t hate people; he just didn’t know how to talk to them. “Which dorm are you guys staying in?”

“We’re all on the fifth floor of the Hwang residence hall. Renjun hyung and Donghyuck hyung are in room 512 and Chenle hyung and I are three doors down.” Jisung answered. Mark wondered why the freshmen were getting taller and taller with every coming year. 

Mark nodded and motioned the freshmen to follow him. After walking for a while — and getting a few stares from the other students — they arrived at their residence hall. As Mark noticed how fascinated the freshman were by how big and clean the building was, he wondered what kind of place they used to go to. 

Renjun and Jisung bowed to Mark before going inside their separate dorm rooms, but Chenle stayed behind. “Sunbae, we should play basketball together one day! I may not look like it, but I’m really good!” 

“Uh... okay, sure.” Mark thought the boy was kind of adorable, but he didn’t know what to do such friendly and bright people. He didn’t even know how to handle Jaemin’s endless affection sometimes. He awkwardly stood there as Chenle waved at him goodbye before catching up to his dorm mate, Jisung. 

Before Donghyuck could go inside, he smiled at Mark. “Thank you for bringing us to our room. Sorry you had to come all the way here!”

There it was again. The younger boy’s pretty smile. 

Mark nodded. “No problem.”

If he said any more, he might’ve spilled out all of what’s in his head right now. 

_Anything for you_ is what Mark wanted to say, but he stopped himself because that’s not what you say to someone you just met. 

Without thinking, Mark blurted out, “Give me your phone.”

“Huh…?”

“If you — I mean, if you guys need any help, you can… call me, I guess.” 

Donghyuck nodded, but he was a little confused why someone he just met would offer their phone number. But he didn’t want to be disrespectful to his sunbae (also he was really cute), so he took out his phone and slowly handed it to Mark.

Mark has never felt more like a dumb ass, but it was too late. He made a mental note to never leave his house ever again after this. He took Donghyuck’s phone without looking up and saved his number as “Mark hyung.”

“I can call you hyung? Already?” Donghyuck smiled at the slightly taller boy. He didn't know why the older boy refused to look him in the eyes. Donghyuck thought Mark's eyes were really pretty, but he didn't get to see them that much. 

Before the younger boy’s smile robbed every bit of oxygen left in his lungs, Mark turned to leave. “Mhm.”

Donghyuck looked down at the words “Mark hyung” in his contacts. Somehow it felt familiar and warm. He watched the older boy walk away, his steps a bit rushed.

When Renjun noticed Donghyuck standing outside, he peeked his head out and tried to find what he was looking at. “What are you doing? Hurry up. Chenle and Jisung want to get some lunch after unpacking.”

Donghyuck kept his gaze at the end of the hall, hoping for the small chance that Mark would look back at him, but he disappeared behind the corner. The freshman snapped out of it and went inside to unpack.


End file.
